mau06's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
maramm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
obiewilcox's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
maxbrzr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
jeffthink's review against another edition
2.0
This is a tough one to rate for me.
The storyline is brilliant - "what happens if you're arrested, but have no idea why and no one will tell you?" - and it's all too important of a topic in this "post-truth" era that we live in, especially one that features an alarming growth in despotic tendencies. Beyond that, there were certain passages that I genuinely enjoyed and found clever....but...
I really didn't enjoy the act of reading this as a whole. The scenes lurch from one to another, I often felt bored with some of the more inane dialogues, and overall I just felt like it could have been put together much better (to be clear, I'm not saying *I* am able to do so :) ). I get that Kafka's work is weird by nature, but I really did enjoy his book, The Metamorphosis, which is in a not dissimilar style.
I wonder if part of it is the translation I chose because there were several glaring typos.
Either way, I'm glad I read it, but sadly, can't happily recommend to others.
The storyline is brilliant - "what happens if you're arrested, but have no idea why and no one will tell you?" - and it's all too important of a topic in this "post-truth" era that we live in, especially one that features an alarming growth in despotic tendencies. Beyond that, there were certain passages that I genuinely enjoyed and found clever....but...
I really didn't enjoy the act of reading this as a whole. The scenes lurch from one to another, I often felt bored with some of the more inane dialogues, and overall I just felt like it could have been put together much better (to be clear, I'm not saying *I* am able to do so :) ). I get that Kafka's work is weird by nature, but I really did enjoy his book, The Metamorphosis, which is in a not dissimilar style.
I wonder if part of it is the translation I chose because there were several glaring typos.
Either way, I'm glad I read it, but sadly, can't happily recommend to others.
vilkas's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lukestonewalker's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
joarholtter's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
wylewny's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5